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On 18 July 2017, around 50 local campaigners joined the webinar “Small municipalities doing big things during EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK”. The webinar focussed on how smaller municipalities can organise successful activities during EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK.

Small municipalities ranging in size from 3,000 to roughly 70,000 inhabitants from across Europe presented the activities they organised during the 2016 campaign. Presentations came from Bissen (Luxembourg), Farkadona (Greece), Gioia del Colle (Italy), Katrineholm (Sweden), Kozani (Greece), Labin (Croatia), Pančevo (Serbia) and Xanthi (Greece). Some had participated in EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK in 2016 for the first time, while others have longer experience with the campaign.

From a bus-stop book booth to pop-up parks, car-free days to “Intelligent bus stops”, each city had innovative and unique ideas for promoting sustainable mobility in their communities. A common goal was to engage citizens in the process, which – according to the organisers – leads to the best outcome. Labin used a social media photo competition to raise awareness among citizens, while Xanthi launched a comprehensive communication plan with radio, television and newspaper coverage.

Listening to the enthusiastic organisers, one thing became clear: it doesn’t take a lot of money to organise a great sustainable mobility activity. Through dedicated local organisers and strong local partnerships, it’s possible to re-imagine how transportation works in our communities. It’s not just about large cities with vast public transport fleets – small municipalities have a pivotal role to play.

In 2017, for the first time, small municipalities will have their own award category for the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award. This means that two awards will be given out: one for municipalities with less than 50,000 inhabitants and one for municipalities with 50,000 inhabitants or more. The application period will open on 22 September 2017, the final day of EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK 2017.

The webinar also included a short presentation on the Thematic Guidelines for the 2017 theme – “Clean, shared and intelligent mobility”. Looking towards the upcoming edition of EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK, more than a few ideas for linking this year’s theme to local activities were exchanged.